All-clear issued after large chemical fire extinguished at La Porte plant

LA PORTE, Texas (KTRK) -- A fire erupted at a chemical plant early Tuesday morning in La Porte, but no one was hurt, the city's office of emergency management said.

The incident happened at Oxy Vinyls - La Porte VCM at 2400 Miller Cut-off Road and Independence Parkway.

A message on the CAER alert system said the fire happened shortly after midnight and warned that emergency vehicles and noise may be noticeable to the community.

By 4:45 a.m., OxyChem released a statement that emergency responders put out the fire quickly and safely.

All personnel were accounted for and no one, including first responders, was hurt, OxyChem said.

OxyChem released the following statement:

"Early Tuesday morning we had a fire at our OxyChem plant in La Porte, Texas, and emergency responders extinguished it without further incident. We want to thank the first responders for their quick and safe response. No injuries to plant personnel or responders have been reported, and all personnel are accounted for. Our first priority is safeguarding the health and safety of our workers and the community, and we will conduct an investigation to determine the cause."

According to officials, it was a pump fire that took three hours to extinguish.

An all-clear was issued for the area at 5:36 a.m., after crews monitored for Ethylene dichloride and deemed it safe.

Ethylene dichloride is described as a colorless liquid with a chloroform-like odor. It decomposes slowly, becomes acidic and darkens in color.

People can be exposed to it a number of ways, including through inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption.

According to ABC13 archives, the last incident documented at the plant was a small equipment fire in November of 2012.

There was also a ruptured valve fire at the OxyChem Ingleside plant in San Patricio County in January of 2022.

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